The chief executive of Europe’s largest airline by revenue has hit out at the high cost of airport fees in Germany, which he said are to blame for reductions in German flight schedules and declining national competitiveness.
“Very concerned” by decline caused by “extreme” costs
Speaking to German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, the CEO of Germany’s flag carrier, Lufthansa, Carsten Spohr, said he is “very concerned about the connectivity of our business locations.” Characterising recent increases in state aviation costs as “extreme”, he linked the tariffs firmly to issues in the German sector, saying they are “leading to a further decline in services. More and more airlines are avoiding German airports or cancelling important connections.”
What routes are being cut?
Spohr’s remarks follow cuts by both British Airways and EasyJet on some German routes and a recent announcement by Ryanair that, due to taxes and airport fees, it will be ceasing all Dortmund, Dresden and Leipzig routes in summer 2025. As a result of what Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has called “out of control” costs, those routes go in the bin alongside 20% of its routes to Berlin and a whopping 60% of the budget carrier’s Hamburg flights.
Hamburg is also reeling from the recently announced withdrawal of Eurowings operations, the outcome of a move that will see the Lufthansa subsidiary slash over 1,000 flights by 2025.
Turbulence likely to continue
The turbulence in the German aviation sector is, commentators predict, likely to mean less choice and higher fares for both business and leisure passengers, who are advised to plan and book travel well in advance, bearing in mind that the European market is already under pressure with airlines facing significant shortages of aircraft due to chronic supply chain issues.
And the problems look set to continue, Spohr warned, as a result of measures and targets set to be imposed at a national level that will impact the industry as it faces the future. These include rules over the use of sustainable aviation fuel intended to reduce emissions such as, “for example, a blending quota for e-fuels, which are not yet available in sufficient quantities.”
German market in decline by international standards
The fiscal and regulatory environment in Germany is not conducive to growth, Spohr said, slamming “cost pressures from environmental levies and taxes” as “unsustainable for many carriers.”
The consequence of those business conditions, he said, is that “the connectivity quality of many important economic regions is declining by international standards.”
